MEETING WITH MEDIATOR FAILS TO PREVENT WALKOUT

Jerry Thornton, Tribune Staff WriterCHICAGO TRIBUNE

Teachers went on strike Sunday night in Chicago Heights Elementary School District 170 after a six-hour meeting between administrators, the union and a federal mediator failed to produce an agreement on pay and insurance issues.

When talks ended at about 10:15 p.m. Sunday, both sides were still holding to the same positions with which they started the day, spokespersons said.

Teachers voted last week to strike on Monday if no agreement was reached over the weekend. However, Monday classes had already been canceled. Anticipating problems, Supt. Dollie Helsel last week called for schools to be closed Monday regardless of whether an agreement was reached Sunday.

She also set up a program for lunch to be served to students starting Tuesday at various parks in Chicago Heights.

"I'm really concerned about the kids," Helsel said. "We've got some needy children and if a settlement can't be reached, I wanted to see that they got fed lunches that they would have received if school was open."

Helsel said 80 percent of students in the district are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunches.

The Chicago Heights Federation of Teachers Local 1260 voted 178-9 Thursday in favor of a walkout, union officials said. But both sides still held out hope that they could come to an agreement before Monday. However, those hopes were dashed when no progress was made on Sunday.

"I'm disappointed. We're still a long way apart," Helsel said Sunday night. "I will set up phone messages for parents (on school phone lines). There will be programs at the park district and programs at the library," Helsel said.

She said there are no plans to open the schools with substitute teachers because there are "too many students."

"We tried to come close, but we didn't get anywhere," said Rhonda Sneed, president of the teachers union. "The bottom line is, they have the money but they don't want to give it to us. At some point (we) have to make a stand."

But Helsel said the district is cash-strapped and is operating with a $700,000 deficit that stood at $1.6 million two years ago.

In Thursday's vote, the teachers rejected an offer of a 13 percent pay raise over three years.

The local had at first asked for a 27 percent raise but has lowered that to 24.3 percent over three years. The teachers also want the $10,000 life insurance plan raised to $20,000.

Presently, according to the union, a beginning district teacher with a bachelor's degree makes $23,200 a year, and those with master's degrees receive $24,625. The maximum a district teacher with 36 years' experience and a master's degree can make is $59,250.

Sneed said that those beginning salaries are among the lowest in the state, but an Illinois State Board of Education spokesman said beginning teachers make less in 137 school districts statewide.

Sneed noted the overwhelming vote on Thursday and said teachers were prepared for a two-week strike.

The union local filed a notice of intent to strike with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board on Aug. 31. The union said it planned to strike unless school officials met teachers' demands for higher salaries and increased life and medical insurance coverage.

State law dictates that unions can strike 10 calendar days after the notice has been filed.

District 170 teachers have never been on strike. But the union filed an intent-to-strike notice before agreeing on the two-year contract, which ended at the completion of the last school year.

So far, the only Illinois teachers to walk out are those in Glenbard High School District 87. Classes resumed there Sept. 1, after the strike delayed the opening of school by a week.